Abstract

Although the literature has shown that regional mobility positively affects individual labor market careers, some people stay immobile even when their careers are threatened. As individual characteristics cannot solely explain this (non-)mobility, we examine how the economic condition in the social context in which individuals live alters the evaluation of local labor market (LLM) opportunities. In using first difference models and georeferenced administrative data from Germany, we provide direct evidence of how lower LLM opportunities and higher neighborhood unemployment positively influence regional mobility. Interacting the two contexts, however, reveals that individuals conditionally evaluate LLM opportunities: When neighborhood unemployment increases, individuals stick to their vicinity despite their declining individual LLM opportunities. We rationalize this behavior by a reduced unemployment stigma. Qualification-specific analyses document heterogeneity in the reaction to declining LLM opportunities. The study stresses that individuals perceive broader spatial contexts conditional on their more local social context and their own characteristics.